The road to Mt. Midoriyama would be difficult in Houston as contestants faced the quintuple steps, the tilting slider, the spinning log, the cargo crossing, the swinging spikes and the warped wall, plus, the salmon ladder, the walking bar, the crazy cliffhanger and the invisible ladder.

The extended course proved to be too much for almost every contestant in Houston Monday as a new obstacle -- the walking bar -- threw a wrench in many of the athletes' plans to get to Las Vegas. The obstacle was a variation on the salmon ladder in which the competitors hung from a bar and maneuvered horizontally by sliding the bar across a series of staggered ledges. It was a long time before anyone cleared this obstacle, but eventually, Tremayne Dortch proved it could be beaten. Unfortunately, after clearing the walking bar, Dortch fell on the crazy cliffhanger.

Watch Tremayne Dortch's Houston finals run below:

Only two athletes in Houston were able to complete the entire course. One was Sam Sann, a 48-year-old gym owner who trains other athletes competing on the show. Sann expertly navigated every obstacle, blowing kisses to the crowd as he went, to earn a spot in Las Vegas for the third straight year -- the first year doing so via completing a city finals course, as opposed to going as a wildcard.

Watch Sam Sann's Houston finals run below:

However, Jeremiah Morgan completed the course with the fastest time, climbing the invisible ladder and clocking in at just over six minutes and 16 seconds.

With only two athletes completing every obstacle, the other 15 spots in the national finals were filled by the next 13 best combinations of distance and speed on the course. Three athletes made it to the crazy cliffhanger to earn their spot on the list -- Dortch, Daniel Gil, and Karsten Williams. Meanwhile, 10 of the competitors whose night was cut short by the new walking bar will move on to Las Vegas as well, including Kacy Catanzaro's fiancé, Brent Steffensen, as well as Thomas Stillings, Geoff Lancaster, David Yarter, Dillon Gates, Kevin Klein, Abel Gonzalez, Joe Calderon, Anthony Scott, and Jonathan Parr.

Watch Brent Steffensen's Houston finals run below:

There will be three more city finals episodes before "American Ninja Warrior" heads to Las Vegas to give its best a shot at Mt. Midoriyama. Next up is Orlando. Who will make the cut? Stay tuned to find out!

"American" Ninja Warrior" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC. A replay of of the Houston city finals will air on Esquire Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT.